Saskatchewan Crops in Good Conditions Despite Rain in Some Areas and Lack of Moisture in Others

Jul 15, 2024

Saskatchewan Agriculture reports, despite excess rain in some regions of the province and dry conditions in others, crops are in good condition overall.
Saskatchewan Agriculture released its crop report Thursday for the period from July 2nd to July 8th.Meghan Rosso, a Crops Extension Specialist with Saskatchewan Agriculture says rainfall was variable across the province over the past week.

Quote-Meghan Rosso-Saskatchewan Agriculture:

Conditions were generally drier over the past week compared to previous weeks.Despite the excess moisture causing crop yellowing in low lying areas in some regions of the province and lack of moisture contributing to drier areas within other regions, crop conditions are reported to be in overall good condition.
Reduced precipitation and increased temperatures have reduced the topsoil moisture reserves throughout many regions of the province.

The moisture and warmer temperatures are supporting quicker crop advancement with some crops already starting to show reductions in the percentage that are falling behind in development.Canola and spring cereals are still the furthest behind the normal stages of development for this time of year.While the crop conditions do vary across the province, overall pastures, hay and crops are reported to be in good condition.

Some producers are expressing concern with the higher temperatures in areas that are already experiencing a lack of moisture or that have canola and mustard in the flowering stage of development.Excess moisture continues to be the main cause of crop damage throughout many regions of the province.Areas experiencing excess moisture have indicated continued crop yellowing in lower areas of the fields with some crop loss occurring.

In areas that are receiving less moisture, crops stress is just starting to occur.There was minor to moderate damage reported from isolated hail events over the past week.Gophers and grasshoppers continue to cause damage through out the province with some areas reporting emerging grasshoppers that didn't previously have pressure.Producers also note aphids and cabbage seedpod weevils are beginning to appear in some regions of the province.With the frequent moisture and currently humid conditions, disease development has been observed in various crops including pulses and cereals.

Rosso says producers will be monitoring fields over the next week for disease and insects with many applying fungicide due to disease already present and others taking preventive measures given the high heat and humidity which can be conducive to disease development.
For more visit Farmscape.Ca.

Source : Farmscape.ca

Video: Why Your Food Future Could be Trapped in a Seed Morgue

In a world of PowerPoint overload, Rex Bernardo stands out. No bullet points. No charts. No jargon. Just stories and photographs. At this year’s National Association for Plant Breeding conference on the Big Island of Hawaii, he stood before a room of peers — all experts in the science of seeds — and did something radical: he showed them images. He told them stories. And he asked them to remember not what they saw, but how they felt.

Bernardo, recipient of the 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award, has spent his career searching for the genetic treasures tucked inside what plant breeders call exotic germplasm — ancient, often wild genetic lines that hold secrets to resilience, taste, and traits we've forgotten to value.

But Bernardo didn’t always think this way.

“I worked in private industry for nearly a decade,” he recalls. “I remember one breeder saying, ‘We’re making new hybrids, but they’re basically the same genetics.’ That stuck with me. Where is the new diversity going to come from?”

For Bernardo, part of the answer lies in the world’s gene banks — vast vaults of seed samples collected from every corner of the globe. Yet, he says, many of these vaults have quietly become “seed morgues.” “Something goes in, but it never comes out,” he explains. “We need to start treating these collections like living investments, not museums of dead potential.”

That potential — and the barriers to unlocking it — are deeply personal for Bernardo. He’s wrestled with international policies that prevent access to valuable lines (like North Korean corn) and with the slow, painstaking science of transferring useful traits from wild relatives into elite lines that farmers can actually grow. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t. But he’s convinced that success starts not in the lab, but in the way we communicate.

“The fact sheet model isn’t cutting it anymore,” he says. “We hand out a paper about a new variety and think that’s enough. But stories? Plants you can see and touch? That’s what stays with people.”

Bernardo practices what he preaches. At the University of Minnesota, he helped launch a student-led breeding program that’s working to adapt leafy African vegetables for the Twin Cities’ African diaspora. The goal? Culturally relevant crops that mature in Minnesota’s shorter growing season — and can be regrown year after year.

“That’s real impact,” he says. “Helping people grow food that’s meaningful to them, not just what's commercially viable.”

He’s also brewed plant breeding into something more relatable — literally. Coffee and beer have become unexpected tools in his mission to make science accessible. His undergraduate course on coffee, for instance, connects the dots between genetics, geography, and culture. “Everyone drinks coffee,” he says. “It’s a conversation starter. It’s a gateway into plant science.”

Saskatchewan Crops in Good Conditions Despite Rain in Some Areas and Lack of Moisture in Others

Trending Video

Video: Why Your Food Future Could be Trapped in a Seed Morgue

Business News by Better Farming

General News by Better Farming

Forums by Agriville.com

Machinery News by Better Farming

Crop News by Better Farming

Livestock News by Better Farming

Sponsored Links: